| Previous |
|
|
COMMISSIONERS MEETING REGULAR SESSION MAY 17, 2004 at 6:00 P.M.
ATTENDANCE:COMMISSIONERS: Gene R. Beck, PresidentDonald K. Walton, Vice President Dennis D. O’Hair COUNCIL: Larry Parker COUNTY ATTORNEY: Timothy Bookwalter AUDITOR: Kristina Warren AUDIENCE: Forty-two Individuals
The Putnam County Board of Commissioners met in regular session on May 17, 2004 at 6:00 p.m. at the Courthouse Annex. The pledge to the flag was given. Don Walton led everyone in a moment of prayer.
HIGHWAY DEPARTMENT ANNUAL REPORTDave Sutherlin, Highway Supervisor submitted the annual report the Commissioners needed to approve and sign. The report would then be sent to the State. The Commissioners approved and signed.
GRAVEL ROADS IN THE COUNTY Gene Beck said the total number of homes on gravel roads was 1,928. It would cost $70,000 to put oil 10 feet wide and 100 foot long in front of each home. This did not include labor. The county has been spending $30,000 - 40,000 a year with the 50/50 cost share dust control program. Don Walton suggested the county paying for half of the cost. Dennis O’Hair made the motion to table until their next meeting; Don Walton seconded. The motion carried unanimously.
COUNTY ROAD 125 E Don Gedert with the Redevelopment Board came to the meeting to discuss County Road 125 E. It was located between 925 and Burma Road. Mr. Gedert submitted paperwork to the Commissioners to review. The board would like the county to finish opening the road. He said there was a safety issue to be addressed regarding ingress/egress. He urged the Commissioners to finish the quarter mile of the road. He asked for their consideration of the request.
Dennis O’Hair asked if this was in the Town of Cloverdale limits? Dewey Garrett said about half of it would be in the Town of Cloverdale limit. Mr. O’Hair said it would depend on how it was annexed into the town. It may be that the county was only responsible for half of the road. Mr. O’Hair said he would turn it over to Tim Bookwalter the County Attorney to decide the matter. Mr. Garrett said he had been involved in the annexation process and he thought it was just Stardust Hills property. Mr. O’Hair said if that were the case then the annexed property would go to the center of the road.
Tim Bookwalter said there was a number of homeowners near the road in question. He felt it would be a good idea to notify all of them before taking any action. Dennis O’Hair said he wanted to first find out how the road was divided. He did not have a problem with working with the Town of Cloverdale to reopen the road. Don Walton agreed with Mr. O’Hair. He would like to see it done. The Commissioners asked Mr. Bookwalter to research it.
JAIL REPORT Sheriff Mark Frisbie informed the Commissioners that the Putnam County Jail held the highest number of D.O.C. prisoners in the State. Sheriff Frisbie informed the board that his department had hired new deputies to fill the open positions. He gave a brief background of the deputies.
Sheriff Frisbie also said it was necessary to get another vehicle since one of their current vehicles had over 110,000 miles on it.
Dennis O’Hair commended them on the good job they did cleaning up the back of the jail. He did question the wet area on the property. Had they gotten back with the contractor? Sheriff Frisbie said he would ask Deputy Steve Fenwick if he had and what was the status.
Sheriff Frisbie said they had a road crew out helping to clean Putnam County. He actually had inmates that were begging to be on the road crew to get some time out of the jail. They could have more road crews but they were short on manpower to oversee them.
Dennis O’Hair asked what were the requirements of an individual to oversee the road crew? Sheriff Frisbie said they had to be a special deputy. Dennis O’Hair said the Commissioners would try to work something out with the Highway Department to get additional help overseeing the road crew.
WINDOWS AT COURTHOUSE Ken Hutcheson, Head Custodian said Barrier Windows had started on the 4th floor today. They completed nine windows.
FURNITURE QUOTES FOR THE CONFERENCE ROOM Ken Hutcheson, Head Custodian said he had been asked to get quotes for a table and chairs. He went over the quotes with the Commissioners. Gene Beck made the motion to buy the table from Quill in the amount of $580 and the 10 chairs from Horizon in the amount of $1,399.50; Dennis O’Hair seconded. The motion carried unanimously.
CHAIRS FOR CIRCUIT COURTROOM Judge Laviolette, Judge Lowe and Ed Overshiner with Horizon Business Center came to the meeting to discuss chairs for the Circuit Courtroom. Judge Laviolette explained that they would like to replace the chairs that were broke and add chairs for the jury for a total of 43 chairs. They would also need a rug because the current one was a mess and it would be more of one once the chairs were removed because they were bolted to the floor.
Gene Beck asked how much it would cost. Judge Laviolette said approximately $184 per chair plus installation. Mr. Overshiner said he could not give a definite quote because you had to go by dimensions and the layout of the room.
Dennis O’Hair asked when the chairs could be delivered. Mr. Overshiner said 10 to 12 weeks after the order and that was with the company using his drawing. Don Walton asked Ken Hutcheson to work on getting a quote for the carpet. Dennis O’Hair asked if that time line would work for her. Judge Laviolette said it did not sound like she had a choice and she would work around it. Dennis O’Hair made the motion to approve the purchase of the chairs with an amount to not exceed $220 per chair (chair and installation) with Horizon Business Center to be installed as soon as possible with the approval of Judge Laviolette; Don Walton seconded. The motion carried unanimously. The good chairs in the Circuit Court would be moved to the Superior Courtroom.
OFFICE FURNITURE IN CIRCUIT COURTROOM Judge Laviolette asked about the request she had submitted and had been tabled at the last meeting. Dennis O’Hair said he had looked at it. Dennis O’Hair made the motion to approve Judge Laviolette purchasing a cabinet located in her office in the amount of $35; Don Walton seconded. The motion carried unanimously.
PRIEST CONSERVATION, PRIEST AND RADER & LEGAL SUBDIVISIONS Kim Hyten, Planning & Zoning Director submitted the plats to the Commissioners. The boards approved the plats. Don Walton made the motion to approve all three subdivisions; Dennis O’Hair seconded. The motion carried unanimously.
911 POLICY REVISION Dave Costin, 911 Director said he had submitted it at their last meeting and it was tabled to give the Commissioners time to review. Don Walton made the motion to approve; Dennis O’Hair seconded. The motion carried unanimously.
911 FINANCES Dave Costin, 911 Director submitted a financial overview to the Commissioners. Gene Beck stated that State Representative Andrew Thomas was present tonight at the request of the Commissioners. Dennis O’Hair said the Commissioners had asked him to come to hear and hopefully help in the funding problem for 911. The problem is occurring due to the decrease in landlines. More and more people were going to cell phones and the county received a small percentage of that money collected. The Commissioners were hoping for new legislation to help the counties.
State Representative Thomas said the handout from Mr. Costin was very good. It did show that Putnam County was the only county in the State of Indiana that funded their 911 department strictly out of phone fees. It appeared that Putnam County would need to start looking at funding part of the budget from their county general fund.
Gene Beck said part of the problem and concern they had was the percentage Putnam County received from the money collected on cell phones. Putnam County received only .05 percent of the money. It was based on population.
Mr. Costin said he had four rough approaches to a short-term fix: 1) pay shortfall out of county general fund, 2) hazardous waste fund pay portion, 3) health insurance trust fund & 4) riverboat wagering distribution. He was looking at $80,000 - $120,000 shortfall per year using his current budget. Mr. Costin said Putnam County was at the subscribers fee cap. In the financial overview Mr. Costin handed out it showed by 2009 he would be $688,800 in the red with the current funding and expenditures.
Mr. Costin asked for the Commissioners to please review the paperwork he submitted to them tonight. He would be going to the Council tomorrow night. He would be in the red by July. Once they hit that point then he would be able to pay for payroll and nothing else.
He also heard the suggestion of phasing in the insurance and benefits into the county general fund and offset it with another fund… Mr. Costin said another option was increasing the amount of the subscriber fee charged on cell phones. It could be increased to $1 and it is currently 65 cents.
Don Walton suggested taking the money from the hazardous waste fund. If the current law does not allow for it then the law needs to be changed. Gene Beck said he would be in favor of that too. They could use the new money coming in which was around $63,000 a quarter and leave the existing 2.2 million dollars in the hazardous waste fund.
Dennis O’Hair said if the Commissioners wanted to pay for it out of the hazardous waste fund it would have to be turned over to the Hazardous Waste Committee. Then, it would come before the Commissioners and finally the Council. They were on a very tight timeline to get the funding needed by July. Dave Costin would like a decision by the Council at their June meeting.
Don Walton made the motion to table until at the end of the meeting; Dennis O’Hair seconded. The motion carried unanimously.
COUNTY WEB SITE Marilyn Bigelow submitted minutes from the meeting. She also told them the computer that would be used to change the web site is located in the Recorder’s Office and would be up and running soon.
VISITORS CONVENTION BUREAU Don Gedert, Redevelopment Commission submitted a copy of the September 1989 ordinance passed for the innkeeper’s tax. They collect around $225,000 a year. A large percentage was collected from the Cloverdale hotels. They have been trying for quite some time to get funding from the bureau to get billboards to advertise these hotels and eating establishments.
Mr. Gedert suggested two Visitors Bureau: one for the southern area to central and then central to the north. Or, to have a better distribution of monies being spent. The highest traffic count is on I-70 and it goes to Cloverdale.
He felt the billboards would be a good expenditure and investment for the county to bring in more people to the county. He felt this was better than buying a building or refurbishing a building. He did not see how this brought in tourists. The billboards would bring in people to the county.
Dennis O’Hair said the mentality needed to be changed in the county. It was just like the Commissioners. The Commissioners ran by district to be elected but the whole county elected them. Therefore, they represent the whole county. They could not look at splitting the county. He understood the Cloverdale area had the largest amount of hotels and brought in 80% of the innkeeper’s tax. They could look at that on many different levels throughout the county. He did not want to see the county divided. It was Putnam County and we need to look at it as a whole. He would work just as hard for people in Cloverdale as he would in Bainbridge. He did not want to divide the county because of the landfill or I-70.
Mr. Gedert said they had looked at a food and beverage tax. But, that would affect the residents of the Town of Cloverdale and not the tourists traveling through the county. He felt the innkeeper’s tax was tourism money and was not generated by county residents. He felt this was different. He had a problem because they could not even get 10% of the money collected. They had tried for a year. It was getting frustrating. Especially as they looked at the expenditures the board was making with the innkeeper’s tax money.
Tim Bookwalter reviewed the law on the creation of the board. Mr. Gedert had given him a copy. The way he read it the Commissioners could create one commission. So, the county could not split the county. However, they could add more members to the board. Tim Bookwalter also said the Council might add a member. Larry Parker said they currently did not have anyone on the board. Dennis O’Hair asked how many members were currently on the board. Mr. Gedert said eleven.
Don Walton said Mr. Gedert had mentioned the building purchased. He wanted him to know that the Commissioners did not have any knowledge of it until after the transaction was completed. Gene Beck and Dennis O’Hair agreed. The Commissioners felt they should have been consulted on the matter. They asked Tim Bookwalter to research the matter. Should the Visitors Board have come before them to get permission? Mr. Gedert said the building was deeded to the Convention Visitors Bureau. The Commissioners questioned that. They felt it should be in the county’s name.
STATE INCOME TAX WITHHELD FOR BRAD WILLIAMS Mr. Williams did not show up at the meeting. Stephanie Campbell, First Deputy Auditor explained that when she data entered Mr. Williams payroll information into the computer she erroneously left out the state income tax. The error was not discovered until the payroll year was closed out and his W-2 had been issued. At this point it was too late to fix it. Mr. Williams received the money all year long and now he owed it to the State.
OPERATION LIFE AMBULANCE SERVICE FINANCES Rick Archer, Director said the good news was that the county residents were healthy. The bad news was that hurt their finances. He submitted paperwork to the Commissioners. Their budget was based on about 10 transport a day and they have had an average of 8 a day.
Mr. Archer went over the report he had passed out to the Commissioners. He explained their financial plight. They were at the hard point of either getting money from the county or needing to cut the 24-hour service they provide to the county.
Mr. Archer had looked at funding options: hazardous waste fund, C.A.G.I.T. and E.D.I.T. He had spoken to the State about those two taxes. A lot of the counties are using the E.D.I.T. monies. The person advised him that a lot of counties were facing the same financial problem. He was not sure how the county was spending the C.A.G.I.T. and E.D.I.T. funds. Mr. Archer was asking for the Commissioners support in asking for additional funding to run their emergency department.
Don Walton pointed out that Operation Life had taken over a facility in Cloverdale that needed to be renovated. This was not calculated into the money they were asking from the county. Mr. Archer said that was correct. Mr. Archer said in the future, if they still had an ambulance service in the northern part of the county they would need a building there too.
Gene Beck questioned the figure being given to the Commissioners. Operation Life is going to be short by the end of the year by over $400,000? Rick Archer said using the current information and with no changes that would be how much money they would need. This was a worst case scenario. They had budgeted for 10 transport a day and they have been short every month so far this year.
Don Walton said they only had $350,000 left not earmarked for this year in the E.D.I.T. fund. And, in the past the county has used that money for roads. Mr. Archer said he was looking at an additional $140,000 which would be about $20,000 more per month from the county.
Gene Beck asked what capital purchases had been made this year? Mr. Archer said they had financed a Blazer.
Dennis O’Hair questioned why the projection said over $400,000 in the red but they were only asking for $140,000. How could they function with that difference of the money needed? He questioned the paperwork submitted to them tonight. He said it did not look right.
Dennis O’Hair made the motion to table until the end of the meeting; Don Walton seconded. The motion carried unanimously.
INDIANA/COLUMBIA STREET PARKING LOT Mayor Nancy Michael went over the letter she had sent to the Commissioners. The parking lot would help fix the downtown parking problem. It would not entirely fix the problem. She was not sure it could be fixed 100% because they were limited on space.
She was asking for the Commissioners to consider a 50/50 cost share. The courthouse employees are using the parking lot. She thanked them for parking there because it did greatly improve the parking problem in the downtown area.
Mayor Michael said they would be awarding the bid at their next Board of Works meeting. She was asking for $150,000 from the county. She realized this money was not easy to come by. The City of Greencastle felt the same constraints. She suggested a three-year with a payback option. She asked because this would give the county employees a place to park.
The parking lot would be a first come first basis parking lot. She felt with the courthouse opening at 8:00 a.m., the employees would continue to utilize the majority of the parking lot. She suggested another alternative which was to relieve the City of Greencastle for 3 years from the E.D.I.T. money they currently give the county in lieu of payment.
Mayor Michael said if the county did not do a cost share with the City of Greencastle they would be forced to make it a reserved parking lot and charge people to park there. The cost of the parking lot came in a lot higher than she anticipated. The City of Greencastle also had other lots they were responsible for and needed to upgrade.
Gene Beck said he did not have a problem with the City of Greencastle charging for the lot. He also said there was plenty of parking at the annex. The county employees could park at the annex and walk to the courthouse. If you worked in Indianapolis you would have to walk that far or even farther.
Mayor Michael said she understood their finances, but they would like to partner with the county. She looked at the lot today and there was 36 cars parked there. It could hold around 42. Don Walton said he was in favor of it if the county could find the funding.
Mayor Michael asked Mr. Bookwalter about the E.D.I.T. option. Mr. Bookwalter said the problem was that the Commissioners already had the money spent.
Gene Beck said if the county had $150,000 they would spend it on the roads. Dennis O’Hair felt the figures were awful high. Mayor Michael said this was the low bid. He felt after all the funding requests they had heard tonight the parking lot was low on their priority list.
PARKS COMMITTEE REQUEST FOR FUNDING Don Walton said he had met with some of the committee members regarding the parks three times. He read a county recreation funding proposal. The proposal suggested using $50,000 of the riverboat wagering money the county had received last year. The money would be distributed to the parks across the county.
Don Walton made a motion to approve the proposal. The motion died from lack of a second.
Gene Beck said he would like to wait until the Commissioners had time to review all the requests tonight. They had a lot of organizations coming to them asking and/or needing money. Dennis O’Hair said he had a problem because he had visited some of the towns and they did not know anything about the proposal. Were we playing Santa Claus? The two most important services for the health and welfare of the citizens of the county were here tonight needing money: Operation Life and 911. Those two issues needed to be addressed first.
Don Walton said they suggested using the riverboat money because it was not property tax money. Gene Beck said they had asked for a year for that money to be utilized on the roads and the Council had denied it.
COUNTY ROAD 175 Lee Roy Patton submitted paperwork to the Commissioners. It referenced past minutes from Commissioner meetings regarding the road. Mr. Patton said instead of a conservation subdivision he would like to divide it into 3 lots. He said Don Walton had looked at the road and property in question today. Mr. Patton asked for a waiver regarding the road. Three people would only share it.
Dennis O’Hair asked why this was before the Commissioners tonight? Did Mr. Patton not have to go before the Planning Board first? Kim Hyten said that was correct. However, Mr. Patton wanted everyone to be on the same page regarding the county right-of-way that was not maintained by the county.
Kim Hyten said the county had given an owner the authority to grade the road and the county would ditch it. However, the original plan presented was changed and this was not done. Don Walton said he had looked at it and did not see a problem with a 15-foot right-of-way with only 3 people utilizing it. Gene Beck was concerned with setting a precedent. Mr. Patton said there would be an understanding that the landowners would be responsible for the upkeep and maintenance on the road and not the county. Mr. Patton said to make it a 20-foot wide road it would be very costly and hurt the looks of the property.
The Commissioners advised Mr. Patton that he needed to go before the Plan Commission Board. The Plan Commission Board would then give a recommendation to the Commissioners.
COMPLAINT ON TRUSTEE OVER ROACHDALE Silvia Poynter, resident came to the meeting because a township trustee had denied her request for financial assistance. She had asked the trustee for rent money for one month. He told Ms. Poynter that she did not meet the requirements to receive financial help.
Ms. Poynter explained that she had married someone last year and he had a son. That son had raped one of her daughters. Ms. Poynter moved her and two daughters out of their home and went to the shelter. Her daughter was taken to Methodist where a doctor has advised Ms. Poynter that she needed to move out of the shelter since there were men. At this point she went to Jake Brown, Franklin Township Trustee for help. He denied her request because she did not live in the area but at the shelter.
Ms. Poynter said she made arrangements with her landlord and now lives in Roachdale. She went back to Mr. Brown and he still refused to help her. Ms. Poynter said she was upset because Mr. Brown told her he did not think she could make it in the community. She took offense from this statement. She was only asking for help for one month (May) until SSI and child support kicked in. Ms. Poynter guessed Mr. Brown thought it was not important for her to find a place to live. He told her he did not feel it was an emergency.
The Commissioners asked Tim Bookwalter for legal advice. Mr. Bookwalter said an individual had the right to appeal a trustee decision. The appeal process was to come before the Board of Commissioners. The Commissioners could overturn the decision made by the trustee. Mr. Bookwalter said the Commissioners had 5 days to make a decision. Dennis O’Hair said he had been a trustee in the past. The trustees had guidelines to go by on how they could spend the poor relief money. He wanted to check the law on the guidelines before he made a decision. Mr. Bookwalter said the Commissioners needed to make a decision by Friday in writing or by phone.
Dennis O’Hair asked Tim Bookwalter to research the eligibility of her receiving financial assistance. Mr. Bookwalter would research it and contact the Commissioners.
Ms. Poynter said she was told the first time that she could not get funding because she was not a resident. She has now been a resident for two months and he still denied her.
The Commissioners will need to let the Trustee know of their decision and the trustee could appeal it to the Circuit Court per Tim Bookwalter.
BRIDGE 159 & BRIDGE 45 Steve Luther with Beam, Longest & Neff, Inc. said the bridge was now under construction. This left an opening for federal aid projects. The Commissioners had already decided and voted at a previous meeting to submit Bridge 45 as the next federal aid project. The Commissioners signed a contract for engineering services that Mr. Luther had brought with him.
Dennis O’Hair made the motion to submit an additional in the amount of $50,000 to the County Council for Bridge 45; Don Walton seconded. The motion carried.
LOGICAL CHOICE A representative from the company came to the meeting to introduce himself. He realized the company had come before the Commissioners before but he would like to readdress the hardware in the courthouse and see what the company could do for the county.
The Commissioners would get back with him.
BRIDGE 199 Don Walton said he had a supplemental agreement no. 1 from Farrar, Garvey & Associates that needed to be approved and signed. The cost of the project would increase by $3,100 due to adding an Archaeological Field Reconnaissance and adding a section corner perpetuation. The Commissioners approved and signed the agreement.
MAY 3, 2004 MINUTES Dennis O’Hair made the motion to approve; Don Walton seconded. The motion carried unanimously.
MAY 7, 2004 PAYROLL Don Walton made the motion to approve; Dennis O’Hair seconded. The motion carried unanimously.
APPLICATION FOR COUNTY HOME Shirley Van Hook, Matron submitted an application for Gary Truesdale. Dennis O’Hair made the motion to approve with Shirley Van Hook’s recommendation; Don Walton seconded. The motion carried unanimously.
CONGRESSIONAL REPORT Don Walton made the motion to approve; Dennis O’Hair seconded. The motion carried unanimously.
MAXIMUS ANNUAL CONTRACT Dennis O’Hair made the motion to approve; Don Walton seconded. The motion carried unanimously.
LIBRARY BOARD APPOINTMENT Don Walton made the motion to re-appoint Ken Heeke; Dennis O’Hair seconded. The motion carried unanimously.
FUNDING PROBLEMS FOR OPERATION LIFE AND 911 Larry Parker, County Council member and the Commissioners reviewed the requests and knocked around ideas. It was a very big problem. Mr. Archer, Operation Life Director said that one run short a day really hurt their finances. Dennis O’Hair said the problem needed to be addressed immediately. This was a tremendous shortfall without any warning. We are talking about $400,000! It blew him away. This is a very serious problem.
David Bray said the board had looked at it for the past 3 months and kept expecting the runs to increase. Mr. Bray pointed out to Commissioner O’Hair that Don Walton was the Commissioners representative to the board.
Gene Beck made the motion to table until the next meeting; Dennis O’Hair seconded. The motion carried unanimously.
COMMISSIONERS MAIL 1. Little Walnut Creek Conservancy District – request for funding to complete the Little Walnut Creek watershed project. 2. Letter from Governor Kernan’s Office – Veterans’ Training Conference. 3. Indiana Department of Transportation – Bridge 159 (receipt of payment $133,395.63). 4. Clerk of the Circuit Court Monthly Report – April 2004. 5. GIE – Claimant: Teresa Chaney GIE00612ML-3-1. 6. Copy of Municipal Lease and Option Agreement for Sheriff’s Department. 7. Heritage Environmental Services Monthly Log Report January – April 2004. 8. Treasurer’s Monthly Report – April 2004. 9. Welfare Monthly Report – April 2004. 10. Microfilm Progress Report – April 2004.
The Commissioners acknowledged their mail.
ADJOURN Dennis O’Hair made the motion to adjourn; Don Walton seconded. The motion carried unanimously.
________________________________ __________________________________ Gene R. Beck, President Donald K. Walton, V. President
________________________________ __________________________________ Dennis D. O’Hair Attest: Kristina Warren, Auditor
|
|
|
|